Steam irons



STEAM IRONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1954 Fig. 3

March 1958 M. c. PAVLIC 2,825,986

STEAM IRONS Filed July 1, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 STEAM IRONS Mary C. Pavlic, North Canton, @hio, assignor to The Hfmgiieir Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation 0 Application July 1, 1954, Serial No. 440,704

3 Claims. (Cl. 38-77) The present invention relates to steam irons and more particularly to a device for indicating when water should be added to the reservoir.

An object of the invention is to provide a steam iron having means operable when the iron is in its upended rest position to indicate the presence of water in the reservoir. Another object is to provide a steam iron having means housed Within the iron handle to indicate the amount of water in the reservoir. Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of the steam iron resting on its sole plate;

Figure 2 is a view of the iron in upended rest position to indicate the presence of water in the reservoir; and Figure 3 is a section along the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed comprises a sole plate having a suitable embedded heating element, a cover shell 11 secured to the sole plate, and a handle 13 attached to the shell. Disposed within the cover shell 11 above the sole plate 10 is a water tank or reservoir 14 having a fill tube 15 projecting into the handle front leg 16 and terminating in an opening 17 for pouring water into the tank 14-. The tank 14 is provided with an unshown valved port to distribute water to steam outlets in the sole plate for moistening the material to be ironed. A thermostat control dial 1% is arranged between the bases 19 of the handle legs to and 20 to regulate the ironing temperatures of the sole plate 10. The rear end of the handle 13 is provided with a projection 21 which cooperates with the end 22 of the cover shell 11 to support the iron in upended rest position as shown in Figure 2 in which position water may be poured through the opening 17 to fill the tank 14-.

The top wall 24 at the rear end of the tank 14 is provided with an opening 25 formed by an annular flange 26 to which is secured, as indicated at 27, the lower end of a transparent water viewing dome 28. The dome 28 projects through an opening 29 in the cover shell 11 into the hollow portion 30 of the handle rear leg 20 and also through an opening 31 in the base 1% of the handle leg adjacent the peripheral edge 32 of the dial 18. The transparent water viewing dome 28 may be made of heat resisting material such as nylon. The water viewing tube 28 extends laterally substantially the width of the base of the handle so that the operator can view the tube from either side of the hand grip portion of the handle.

Quite frequently during the ironing operation the operator moves the iron to its upended rest position to arrange the fabric being ironed. When the iron is in its rest position, the water in the tank flows freely through the relatively large port 25 into the transparent viewing dome 28, as shown in Figure 2, and the operator by noticing the amount of water in the dome 28 will be informed when the water supply is low and the tank should be refilled. If the tank is completely filled with water, the viewing dome 28 will also be filled to capacity as viewed through the opening 31 in the handle rear leg 20. As the water is deplenished the amount of water entering the dome 28 when the iron is upended is reduced to warn the operator that water should be added to the tank.

While I have shown and described but one embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described but to include all equivalent variations except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a steam iron, a body, a water reservoir on said body, shell means concealing said reservoir from the view of the user of the iron, iron rest means for supporting said body in upended position to collect the water in said reservoir at the rear end thereof, and water indicating means connected with said rear end of said reservoir and projecting upwardly of said shell means into the view of the user and adapted to receive water from said reservoir when the iron is in said upended rest position to thereby reveal the presence of water in said reservoir.

2. In a steam iron, a body, a water reservoir on said body, iron rest means for supporting said body in upended rest position to collect the water in said reservoir at the rear end thereof, tubular means in open communication with said rear end of said reservoir and projecting upwardly thereof into said body to receive water from said reservoir when said iron is in its upended rest position, means in said body forming an opening above said reservoir for viewing said tubular means, said tubular means being transparent for viewing the interior thereof through said opening to determine the presence of water in said reservoir.

3. In a steam iron, a body, a handle for said body, a water reservoir on said body, iron rest means for supporting said body in upended rest position to collect the water in said reservoir at the rear end thereof, tubular means communicating with said rear end of said reservoir and projecting upwardly thereof to receive water therefrom when said iron is in its upended rest position, said tube projecting into a portion of said handle, and means defining an opening in said handle portion for viewing said tubular means to determine the presence of water in said reservoir.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,830,875 lzumiya Nov. 10, 1931 2,224,206 Wiggins Dec. 10, 1940 2,432,205 Morton Dec. 9, 1947 2,433,901 Hayashi Jan. 6, 1948 2,700,236 Marvin et a1 Jan. 25, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 860,422 France Sept. 30, 1940 

